1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resilient element, more particularly to a surface mountable resilient conductive element that has a simple and durable construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional surface mountable resilient conductive element 1 is shown to be formed from a unitary conductive strip that is made of metal and that is bent to configure the resilient conductive element 1 with a planar top portion 12, a planar bottom portion 10 disposed below and parallel to the planar top portion 12, an inclined arm portion 11 that interconnects a rear end of the planar top portion 12 and a front end of the planar bottom portion 10, an upper extension portion 14 that extends downwardly, inclinedly and rearwardly from a front end of the planar top portion 12 through a lower hole 112 in the inclined arm portion 11, and a lower extension portion 13 that extends upwardly, inclinedly and forwardly from a rear end of the planar bottom portion 10 through an upper hole 111 in the inclined arm portion 11. Each of the upper and lower extension portions 14, 13 is formed with a distal curved end 141, 131. The planar top portion 12 is adapted to be acted upon by a suction device (not shown) for moving the resilient conductive element 1 during a surface mounting operation.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the planar top portion 12 is subjected to a downward force, elastic deformation of the resilient conductive element 1 occurs at the junctions of the planar top and bottom portions 12, 10 with the inclined arm portion 11. As the planar top portion 12 moves toward the planar bottom portion 10, the distal curved ends 141, 131 of the upper and lower extension portions 14, 13 eventually abut against the planar bottom and top portions 10, 12, respectively, thereby resulting in increased resistance to further deformation of the resilient conductive element 1. On the other hand, since the resilient conductive element 1 is used for making electrical or grounding connection between an electrical device (not shown) thereabove and a contact pad (not shown) of a circuit board (not shown) therebelow, when the planar top portion 12 is pressed toward the planar bottom portion 10, a reduction in contact resistance results in view of contact between the planar top and bottom portions 12, 10 and the distal curved end 131, 141 of the respective one of the lower and upper extension portions 13, 14.
The following are some of the drawbacks of the aforesaid conventional resilient conductive element 1:
1. The mechanical strength of the resilient conductive element 1 is compromised in view of the presence of the upper and lower holes 111, 112 in the inclined arm portion 11.
2. Manufacturing of the resilient conductive element 1 is done manually and cannot be automated due to the need to extend the upper and lower extension portions 14, 13 through the lower and upper holes 112, 111 in the inclined arm portion 11, which results in low production efficiency, poor precision, and increased costs.
3. Since the resilient conductive element 1 is bent by hand, it is not possible to shrink the size of the resilient conductive element 1 further.